This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention that is recited in the claims. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Digital Video Broadcasting Convergence of Broadcast and Mobile Services (DVB CBMS) is preparing a notification framework for Internet Protocol Datacast (IPDC) over Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld (DVB-H). The notification framework will provide methods for carrying notification messages, informing a receiver of new events or triggering interactivity. The notification messages are to be carried over the broadcast channel DVB-H or over the interactivity channel (e.g., a 3G network). However, the notification framework is designed in a generic matter so as to be applicable to different types of notification applications.
Individual notification events are delivered in the form of notification messages. Notification messages can either be synchronized to audio/visual (A/V) content or they can comprise a stand-alone service. Synchronized notification messages describe events that are related to some A/V service, e.g. requests for voting or contextual advertisements. Standalone notification services carry notification messages that are grouped by certain criteria but are not related to an A/V service. An example of a standalone notification service is a stock market ticker that delivers share prices.
Notification services may be default or user-selected services. Default notification messages are of interest to all receivers and are therefore expected by receivers to be automatically received. An example of such a default notification service is an emergency notification service. On the other hand, user-selected notification messages are only received in response to a user selection or request to receive such message. Depending on the type of the notification service, the delivery of the notification messages may differ.